Long-term response to Hep C treatment

Monday, 3 July 2000

French researchers have found patients treated for chronic Hepatitis C, who remain free of the disease six months after the treatment was completed, had a 98% chance of remaining that way in the long-term.

Published in The Lancet, the study was conducted by Helene Fontiane and colleagues from Hospital Neeker, in Paris.

The study identified 45 patients who had been treated for chronic Hepatitis C with the currently approved combination of interferon alfa and ribavirin. These patients were maintaining a response to the treatment (ie, their liver enzymes were normal and no viral RNA could be detected in their blood), six months after the treatment had stopped.

Researchers found, that for 44 of the 45 patients, the virological and biochemical response had been maintained 22 months after the treatment had finished.

"Our results suggest that a virological response at the 6th month after discontinuation of a combination of interferon alfa and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C is predictive of a 97.8% rate of long-term complete response".